weld shop and often produce a clean- er-looking part. Finding a way around casting’s drawbacks, such as tooling costs and slower ramp-up speeds, with the use of 3-D-printed plastic patterns is an exciting prospect for Spaeny, who also pointed out how quickly Great Plains was able to make changes to the initial model for the second pattern. Te whole prototype stage, from con- cept to casting-in-hand for the dealer showcase, took three months. “Tis is a big deal for us. Tere’s a lot
of money that can be saved in castings,” Spaeny said. “It’s really hard to go back and save X amount of dollars. It’s easier to do it [as a casting] right off the bat.” Hibbs is glad Kansas Castings was
along for the experiment. “Tis is what makes the foundry business fun—being involved close enough at the beginning to see what works with the foundry,” he said. “It’s a lot more satisfying and interesting to be involved.”
The cast mount is easier to attach and unattach from the equipment since it requires fewer bolts than the original fabrication design.
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